Suggestions to help you find a church

Wednesday

Sep 28, 2011 at 3:52 PM

Nathan Branson

The church I attend now is the seventh church I've attended since 2001. This is because I've lived in six different cities in the past 10 years. Studying at different universities, switching jobs and a bit of restlessness explain why I've been on the move. Moving like this is common for people in their 20s, which might explain why churches often have a small number of members between the ages of 18 to 30.This transitional kind of Christianity of switching churches certainly has its pros and cons. Yet I've learned how to adapt myself in order find a church in every new city to which I go. So I would like to discuss some things I've learned about trying out new churches. I don't think it's healthy to aimlessly go from one church to the next, but I do think that wherever the Christian is in life finding a church is crucial whether you stay in one city your whole life or by necessity move a lot. I ask myself, what keeps the Christian (or nonbeliever/skeptic) from visiting a church?First, it is key that you accept the purpose that church plays in the life of a Christian. If you don't want to meet with God or hear a pastor preach from the Bible, then you're probably not going to like many churches that you try. I'm not saying that those resistant to ideas from the Bible shouldn't attend a church, but it's important to be open to Christianity in some capacity before you try.Hearing the Word of God is the central reason I think church is a huge help in my life. The pastor's explanation of the Bible sobers me up to what I need to focus my life on. I go to church for the sermon in order that I may understand life and God better. I am there for effects of the sermon to influence my thought process, to sit in the pews with a pen and paper and jot down what grabs my attention or reminds me of changes I want to make. So it seems important to me to overcome any small issues that might keep me from hearing a Sunday sermon. The rest of this article is dealing with other little issues that I've had to overcome when visiting new churches. Worship styles, denomination and preaching content are very important to me, yet I found personal factors equally as influential that affected my church attendance. Social awkwardness was one of the main things I experienced while walking through the doors of an unknown church building. Sitting close to strangers, standing for long periods of time and being the new guy were on my short list of things that were barriers. It's funny that these things had little to do with the actual church service and more my own minor preferences. Entering into a room full of strangers can be intimidating no matter what you're doing. I've found that adults can be as shy as children about meeting new people, except they might cover it up with crankiness or fatigue. So I found it helpful to sit at the back and observe until I became more comfortable with my surroundings. Sitting at the back makes you become somewhat an anonymous observer until you're ready to participate. I did this for about two months at my church before I started meeting people and having short talks after the sermon. This next one might sound really lame. Another minor thing I deal with was having my personal space. A few times I visited a church that was meeting in an office building, so there wasn't much space. Once I arrived there early, sat with some friends in the back corner but then became boxed into the corner. I grew claustrophobic. From that point on, I arrived a few minutes late and picked my own seat — not in that corner.And then of course there is the classic reason not to go to church that plagues everyone — even pastors: not feeling like it. Who doesn't suffer from that dragging morning feeling that makes you think illogically? I made it a point to make my decisions for the morning on Saturday night, otherwise my early morning mood would overcome me with one "legitimate" excuse for laying around. As Christian writer Oswald Chambers said, "Moods never go by praying, moods go by kicking. A mood nearly always has its seat in the physical condition, not in the moral." My qualms were not theological but in physical moods or small preferences that I had to adjust to in order to try a church. And of course there are probably 10 more excuses and/or idiosyncrasies that hold individuals back from trying out a new church. Yet I think it's important to face up to those things and figure out how to overcome them. Are your excuses for not going to church legit? Do they make sense?Like myself, you might find you have to take the risk of being socially uncomfortable a few times in order to find a legitimate church home. If we don't face up to the lame excuses we make for not going to church, we might miss out on being challenged and fed spiritually — the very thing God intended for meeting weekly with other Christians. Nathan Branson is an English graduate student at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and can be reached at natebranson@usa.com.